Tuberculosis(TB) notification rate in Korea has been on a steady decline since 2011. Notably, in 2016, the rate was 60.4 cases per 100,000, a drop of 4.3% from the previous year, specifically showing 48.3 cases per 100,000 for pulmonary tuberculosis and 12.1 cases per 100,000 for extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. However, South Korea still ranked first among OECD member countries in terms of tuberculosis incidence and mortality rates, according to WHO’s key TB indicators. Additionally, it remains at high risk by rising number of tuberculosis-infected foreign-born residents and drug-resistant tuberculosis patients.
To diminish the burden of tuberculosis in effective ways, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has been implementing a national TB elimination plan: (a) an early detection and treatment of latent TB infection (LTBI), (b) an improvement in the TB notification rate, and (c) thorough management of TB patients. KCDC is also concentrating multi-faceted efforts to promote public awareness of healthy lifestyles free from TB by providing easy-to-follow guidelines on TB prevention.